One To Remember
by Gmariam
Summary: It's Valentine's Day, and James Potter is determined to make seventh year one to remember. Unfortunately, so many things go wrong that Lily Evans will probably remember it for all the wrong reasons.
1. How Not To Start The Day

Chapter One: How Not To Start The Day

It was our last Valentine's Day at Hogwarts and my last chance to do something besides get myself knocked out by one of Sirius's love potions again. I was bound and determined to make this day one to remember, and not for embarrassing myself in front of the entire school.

Last year, I made a complete arse of myself after Sirius laced a box of Chocolate Frogs with a love potion and Confunded me into taking them. It wasn't just any love potion: oh no, Padfoot was too clever for his own good, and each piece had been charmed to make me fall in love with a different girl. Even worse, he had set up Lily Evans so that she was not only one of them, but also the one who got stuck watching over me thanks to her overly dedicated sense of duty. She spent the entire night dragging me away from various Gryffindors, Slytherins, and Ravenclaws—and even Professor McGonagall—before their boyfriends could get in a good shot. She finally brewed me an antidote, although not before the last chocolate kicked in, and I had found myself chasing her around the Potions classroom like a lovesick mooncalf.

I actually kissed her just before I took the antidote. I clearly remember the mortification as the spell lifted and the realization set in. I might have had a thing for her, but when the girl you fancy spends the night keeping you from getting hexed, it's embarrassing even for the best of us. She had seen me at my worst, and I was humiliated.

And yet, as we cleaned up in awkward silence and left the classroom that night, I took her hand to thank her, and she didn't drop it. She didn't insult me. She didn't even frown. When I leaned down to kiss her again, she didn't turn away: she kissed me back. And I thought that maybe, just maybe, there was something there. Or could be, if I tried again.

The memory of that night seemed to get in the way. We developed a fragile friendship at best after our experience on Valentine's Day. It was as if that kiss—the real one, not the other one—haunted us every time we were together. Really, I don't know why we didn't just address it straight out; apparently our Gryffindor bravery did not extend to relationships. For some reason, I was reluctant to talk about it, and she seemed happy to leave it that way. I guess that I'd been rejected so many times that I didn't want to get my hopes up based on one kiss only to lose them again. Never mind that we might get somewhere if we actually talked about it; apparently she was just as scared.

Working together as Head Boy and Head Girl the following year didn't help the situation, either. We had two states of existing together as our seventh year started: we either antagonized one another more than ever, or tip-toed around each other in uncomfortable embarrassment. There were flashes of something, of whatever happened between us that night, in a look or a smile or even a touch, but we both seemed unable to follow through—another failure of our Gryffindor heritage.

At least, until now. I summoned up every last drop of courage and confidence I had after burying it for so long and set out to see just what our future might hold. It might have been a year ago, but I could swear there had been something in her eyes, something in that kiss. I even felt it in the jinx she cast as I left her outside the Potions classroom that night. Lately her insults had been far less biting, as if she were holding back, and I was sure she smiled at me more. She liked me, or was at least intrigued by the possibility of liking me. I should have moved on it sooner, but sometimes the walls we put up in defense are too strong to pull down.

So to start, I spent a month planning something special, though not with Sirius. I didn't even trust Remus on this one, since he had helped set me up last year. People don't give him credit, but Peter can be a good listener, as well as surprisingly clever when it comes down to it. So we sat and talked, and he helped me work out all the details of the day, starting with flowers, a few other surprises, and finally dinner. He pointed out what might go wrong, as well as what might actually go right, and he even added a few nice touches of his own; sometimes I wondered why he couldn't get a decent date.

Sirius and Remus thought we were planning a prank on them. I'd already had my revenge on Sirius though, and had quite enjoyed the day he spent tap-dancing around the castle after Easter holidays during sixth year; that it had come only days after Evans' own prank—a ridiculous moustache that he couldn't shave for a week—only added to the perfect payback for what he'd done to us on Valentine's Day. McGonagall had sat us all down after Transfiguration, however, and wheedled our word that we were done with getting back at one another. We had kept that promise remarkably well for the rest of the year.

Seeing that I was now Head Boy—an assignment I was continuously amazed at—I had to maintain my newfound sense of responsibility. Oh, we had planned a prank or two at the beginning of the year, but it was nothing like it had been. And once in a while I still got into it with Snape and the other Slytherins, but even that had fallen victim to the badge on my chest and the duty that came with wearing it.

I really wasn't interested in pulling anything on Sirius, to be honest. My priorities had shifted, and I wanted to accomplish something else this Valentine's Day. I woke up with a smile, determined to put the past behind me and see if there wasn't something there with Lily Evans after all. I was going to lay it all on the line, win or lose. I grinned to myself as I imagined her opening her eyes to find a bushel of flowers at the foot of her bed to start the day. I wondered if she would guess who it was from, or if the anticipation would build to my surprise dinner date at the end of the day.

"You're awfully cheerful today," muttered Sirius as we dressed. I nodded as I straightened my robes and tried to comb down my hair. As usual, it wouldn't do a thing, so I ran my hand through it and left it standing up. Evans gave me a hard time about it, but what could a bloke do?

"It's Valentine's Day, Padfoot. Of course I'm happy."

"Why?" he asked suspiciously. "What have you got brewing?"

I clapped him on the back and laughed. "Nothing for you, I'm afraid. I'm responsible now, remember?"

"That's what worries me," Sirius replied, lifting his eyebrow at me. "You've got an awful lot of scheming pent up and just waiting to blow. It's going to be messy when it does, and I don't feel like spending another day tap-dancing to Gershwin."

"Ah, but you certainly had rhythm," I said, laughing at the memory. Sometimes I missed being able to get away with stuff like that.

Pulling on his robes, Peter stifled a laugh as well. Sirius shot him a black look. "Don't think I don't know you're in on it," he muttered, pointing a finger at Peter. "You're playing both sides, aren't you?"

Peter gave him a blandly innocent shrug, but winked at me as Sirius snorted and headed down toward the common room.

"Where's Remus?" I asked as we followed him downstairs. "He's gone early."

"No idea," said Sirius with a shrug. "Probably some broom closet with that Hufflepuff."

"Bit early for that, isn't it?" asked Peter.

"Oh, it's never too early to—" started Sirius. He stopped as we stepped into the common room and let out a tremendous sneeze.

"Bless you," said Peter, before he, too, sneezed. I felt it in my own nose: that subtle tickle that irritates you before you actually let it out. Soon we were all sneezing, as was every other student who had come down from their dormitories.

"Potter!" I heard a shriek from behind me and recognized the voice immediately. I turned, sneezed, and found myself with a face full of the yellow daises I had left for Lily Evans. Her cheeks were red and her nose was running; really, she looked a bit of a fright when you added in the furious look in her flashing green eyes.

"What?" I asked, putting my hands up as she beat me with more daises. "What's wrong?"

"What did you do?" she asked. "Is there some reason you put a bouquet of sneezewort at the foot of my bed this morning? Or are you trying to get yourself hexed into next week?" She punctuated her tirade with an astonishing run of sneezes.

"Sneezewort?" I asked, dumbfounded. They certainly looked like daisies to me. "And why do you just assume it was me?"

"Because who else would…" She was livid, but couldn't finish. That was because I was Head Boy and, after blowing off my last bit of energy at the start of the year, I had actually settled down into the academic bliss of a responsible seventh-year trying to set an example for the rest of the castle.

Merlin, it was boring sometimes.

Yet she had no basis for the accusation anymore, and she knew it. It was more likely to be Sirius, or even Peter, than me now. Pulling pranks like that would get the Head Boy badge yanked off my robes in a hurry, and I enjoyed wearing mine as much as she enjoyed wearing hers.

"Yes?" I asked, crossing my arms in front of my chest and waiting for her answer. She seemed suddenly uncomfortable, and in spite of the fact that I was trying to win her over once and for all, I enjoyed that. She still looked down her nose at me far too often.

"It just seemed like something you might do…well, might have done at one time," she corrected herself. She blew her nose, and to my surprise, she grinned at me. "Sorry, I sometimes forget you're Head Boy now."

"That's right you do," I murmured. She raised her eyebrows at me, and I grinned back to show I had no hard feelings; a reputation is a hard thing to shake, after all.

"However," I added, "you're right, they are from me." She opened her mouth, ready to protest, and I held up my hand to stop her. "Only I certainly didn't send you sneezewort, and certainly not enough to get the entire tower going. I'm sure it was daises. I wanted to surprise you."

"Daises?" she asked. I had expected a skeptical reaction, but she seemed more confused than anything. "Why daises?"

"I remember you said something about them on the train after the prefects' meeting," I replied, feeling the color in my cheeks and wishing half the tower wasn't standing around wiping their noses and watching.

"You remembered something like that?" she asked. There was the skeptical look; apparently I wasn't capable of something even remotely thoughtful.

"I did, and I was only trying to wish you a Happy Valentine's Day," I said, feeling slightly annoyed. Next to me, Sirius was sniggering, and my suspicions were roused. It was entirely possible and even probable that he had been the one to sabotage my pathetic attempt at starting the day. The part of my mind that was not immersed in the Head Boy role immediately began plotting against him, until I once more remembered my duties, and shook my head to stop myself. Evans was talking.

"Thank you, James," she said. Several students twittered to hear her use my first name, since she usually only did that when she was getting ready to blow up at someone. I had always liked it, though—even when she was mad at me.

"You're welcome, _Lily_," I replied, ignoring the rest of the common room and looking her straight in the eye. I was happy to see her blush and hoped that maybe things wouldn't turn out so bad after all. "And I'm sorry about the sneezewort. I swear I didn't send it."

"I know," she murmured. She was watching Sirius stifle a laugh, and I could tell by the thoughtful look on her face that she had her own suspicions as well. "I can only imagine who it might have been."

"Don't look at me, Evans!" Sirius exclaimed. "I got over the moustache last year. Besides, McGonagall made us promise to stop, remember?"

"Mm-hm." She sneezed and rubbed her eyes. "However, as Head Girl, Black, I hereby order you to remove these—" she dumped the flowers in his arms, causing an eruption of sneezing from him—"from the tower and to get rid of every possible trace you can."

She turned and left without another word, although she did wink at me. I covered my laughter, pretending to cough, as Sirius sputtered indignantly. "She can't do that—she has no power to—"

"As Head Boy," I said, not bothering to hide my grin now, "I concur with her decision. Get to work, Padfoot. I'll save you some bacon at breakfast."

I hurried out with Peter, laughing as we left Sirius standing with an armload of sneezewort and a most undignified expression on his face.

So my great idea for starting the day had not worked, but I still had several more things in mind. The problem was, Sirius had found out about the flowers, so he probably knew about the rest of my day as well. I asked Peter if he had let slip my plans to Sirius, and he vehemently denied it, but I added him to the list of people to get back at as soon as I turned in my Head badge and left Hogwarts.

I decided to abandon my original plan of remaining anonymous all day, since Lily already knew I had sent her the flowers. I also needed to change things up a bit so no one could disrupt the rest of the day. Making excuses to Peter, I hurried ahead, hoping to catch up to Lily. I found her blowing her nose just outside the Great Hall and gallantly conjured her a new handkerchief. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"Thanks," she said, her voice laced with sarcasm.

"You're welcome," I replied as sincerely as I could. "And even though I had nothing to do with it, I am sorry. It's not how I wanted to start the day."

"Me neither," she said. "Daisies would have been much nicer."

I grinned, feeling like I had an opening. "Then tell you what? I'll make it up to you with real daisies if you have lunch with me today."

She stared at me as if she didn't understand what I was saying. "You mean, here in the Great Hall? I always eat lunch with you in the Great Hall."

I waved my hand dismissively. "No, not that. Have a picnic with me." I felt my heart start to pound. I couldn't believe how easily the words were coming from my mouth, and yet how frightening they sounded. What if she said no? What if she said yes?

"Like, a date?" she asked.

"If you want to call it that," I replied evasively, not wanting to scare her off and equally unsure about labeling it. "Or consider it a working lunch. The Head Girl and Head Boy going over a few things in private."

"In private," she repeated, raising her eyebrows. "And where might that be?"

"Meet me in the kitchens," I said, hoping it was still public enough for her to accept. "At noon. I'll bring daisies—and I'll get it right this time."

She studied me for so long I thought for sure she was going to say no. Finally she relaxed and smiled. "Okay. Just stay away from any Chocolate Frogs until then," she said. She winked as she turned and went into the Great Hall.

I wish I had a quick comeback, but I didn't. I couldn't believe she'd said yes, let alone remembered the previous year with any sense of humor whatsoever. I felt a burst of hope that the day could only get better.

How wrong I was.

* * *

**End Notes:**

This story is a sequel of sorts to another Valentine story, _Well Worth The Trouble._ While I would be thrilled if you read that one, I think I've given enough background that you will enjoy this story just fine if you haven't.

Thank you so much to my wonderful beta, Elene/coolcatelly! And to Carole and Lea for their great ideas as well.


	2. Another Adventure with Amortentia

Chapter Two – Another Adventure With Amortentia

It started immediately. As I made my way into the Great Hall and toward the Gryffindor table for breakfast, I heard a cackling overhead. Peeves was doing loop-de-loops around me, giggling madly.

"Potter's got a datey-date!" the annoying spirit crowed. "With Lily-flower, his life-long love!"

Normally I wouldn't let Peeves bother me, but when I glanced at the Gryffindor table, I saw Lily hiding her face in embarrassment. I didn't know whether she was embarrassed because of Peeves or because of me, but it made me angry.

"Sod off," I hissed, batting him out of the way.

He zoomed to a stop in front of me and blew a loud raspberry. "She's not as pretty as the last girl you snogged," he announced loud enough for the entire hall to understand, "but I hear she's good at love potions." He sniggered and stuck out his tongue; I pulled out my wand, but he turned and dashed away.

Unfortunately for him, he flew right into Remus, who flicked his wand and cast a silent spell. A large biscuit flew straight from a nearby sixth-year's hands into the poltergeist's mouth, and he zipped away, sputtering under his breath.

"Thanks," I whispered as I followed Remus to the table and sat down. He asked me what was going on, but I ignored him and all the other looks I was getting as I piled up my plate. I glanced down the table at Lily and caught her eye. She shook her head ruefully, as if to say, "Oh well," and I felt like things might be all right after all.

I grinned and turned back to Remus as he began telling me about his plans with his Hufflepuff. Peter soon joined us, and although they both asked me what I had going for the day, I refused to answer, knowing someone had changed my flowers. As we were leaving, Sirius finally showed up, eyes red and weeping from the sneezewort. I handed him the bacon and toast I had promised, and he grudgingly thanked me as we headed toward the stairs.

As Peter made his way to the library for a free period, the rest of us hurried to the dungeons. Our first class was Potions, which on any other day was a perfectly bearable class. Today, however, Slughorn had decided to review love potions, and more importantly, their antidotes, for N.E.W.T.s. He seemed to think it was an appropriate topic for the day, as well as a good way to warn the class about the dire effects of Amortentia.

"For example, take Mr. Potter here," he began, walking over to the table I shared with Sirius and clapping me on the back. "Completely felled by a powerful love potion last year, he spent the entire night stumbling around the castle trying to make love to each object of his affection."

I let my head fall to the table as everyone around me began to snigger. Oblivious to the class's amusement as well as my own embarrassment, Slughorn barreled on, describing how I had ended up sobbing in the Potions classroom while Ms. Evans, the brilliant and responsible Gryffindor prefect, had desperately brewed the antidote just in the knick of time.

"Which brings me to the assignment for today: you are to brew the antidote for Amortentia using page 241 in your textbook. We will then test each one to see if it works properly."

A Ravenclaw hand shot up. "And how are we going to do that, sir?" she asked, although it seemed pretty obvious to me. In front of us, Remus turned and gave me a look that was both amused and panicked.

Slughorn indicated a large cauldron behind him. The bubbling liquid had a soft pearly sheen, and spirals were rising from the steam. "By taking a sip of Amortentia first, of course," he replied. There was a stunned silence, which he ignored as he continued. "After a few moments, we will then administer your antidote, and if you have brewed it correctly, the unrequited infatuation of the Amortentia should wear off immediately."

Sirius whooped; the rest of the class groaned. Remus looked skeptical, and when I glanced over at Lily, she rolled her eyes. I grinned, remembering our experience the previous year a bit more fondly than I should have—that is, until Slughorn came over and ruined the feeling once more.

"Mr. Potter," he said, slapping me on the shoulder again. "I'm sorry I had to put you on stage like that, but I hope you would want others to learn from your mistake."

I frowned at him. "It wasn't exactly my mistake, sir. I was given a bad box of chocolates."

Sirius's shoulders were silently shaking as he began to gather and prepare the ingredients for the antidote. I stepped on his foot under the table and was rewarded with a stifled grunt of pain.

"Whatever happened, it was quite the adventure," said Slughorn, ignoring Sirius. "And I hope you will do your best on the antidote so you can be prepared should it happen again."

Slughorn walked over to where Lily was slicing gurdyroot. "Ms. Evans," he said, loud enough for the entire class to hear, "since you have already demonstrated your ability to brew this potion, perhaps you might walk around and assist the rest of the class."

Lily's eyes widened; she was often held up as a shining example in class, but never exempted from assignments. Sirius snorted as the class turned and watched. Lily shook her head and gave Slughorn a winning smile; she was his favorite, and I was about to see why.

"Thank you, sir," she replied, "but that was a year ago and under stressful circumstances. I'd like to try it under normal conditions and see if I can't do a little better this time."

Slughorn beamed at her. "My dear, your diligence is inspiring. By all means, brew away!"

Glancing around before starting my own potion, I noticed Snape glowering at Lily from the back. I knew they had fallen out at the end of fifth year, but the look he gave her was one of such dislike I frowned. How could he hate her so much, when he had obviously had feelings for her for so long? Snape nodded abruptly to his partner and set out to brew his antidote.

Beside me, Sirius was cheerfully whistling as he chopped up his wiggentree twigs and tossed them into the cauldron. He added some castor oil and stirred it several times counterclockwise. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing, and when he sat back to let it simmer, I couldn't help but eye him suspiciously.

"You finished that right quick," I pointed out as I tossed in my twigs. "You'd think you'd done it before or something."

"'Course I have," Sirius said, hands behind his head as he pretended to stretch. I'm pretty sure he winked at me as he inclined his head toward Lily. "Evans isn't the only one who can cook."

"What do you—" I started, then stopped and stared. "You had one ready to go. Last year."

"Naturally," he replied, leaning forward to check the steam and add the gurdyroot extract. "I wasn't going to let you wander around like that forever."

"Only until you got out of detention?" I asked, adding the castor oil and stirring six times counterclockwise. In front of us, I could see Remus grinning as he listened in; if I thought I could get away with it, I would have aimed a Jelly Legs Jinx at him.

"And by then Evans had already fixed you." Sirius shook his head. "I missed it. I really wanted to see the look on your face when you realized."

"It was priceless, Black," Lily called from the table beside us.

I glared at her. "Thanks, Lily," I muttered. "I appreciate your support."

"Oh, Potter, you have to admit it—he got you and he got you good."

"That's not what you thought last year," I pointed out, adding the final ingredient to my cauldron. Sirius's potion had begun to change color.

"I can laugh about it now," she said, wandering over to Sirius's cauldron as her own potion steeped. She peeked inside, sniffed a little, and dropped an extra bit of gurdyroot into the cauldron. "I've brewed it too, you know—that should make it a bit stronger."

Sirius looked at the cauldron skeptically. "If you say so, Potions Princess."

I narrowed my eyes at his cauldron as the steam turned the faintest shade of pink; if I didn't know any better, I could have sworn Lily had just sabotaged his potion, and Sirius didn't suspect a thing. She grinned as she headed back to her own table. Remus raised an eyebrow at me before turning to his own cauldron.

"Enjoy the show, Potter," Lily murmured as she walked by. I saw her wand twitch behind her back. "It's going to get interesting very soon."

She suppressed a giggle that confirmed my suspicions. Before I could answer, Slughorn signaled the class for attention. One by one he went around the dungeon and offered everyone a small cup of Amortentia. As their eyes glazed over, he then handed them a sip of their antidote, nodding as each person returned to their normal self with an embarrassed flush and furtive glance around the class.

"Wonder who Snivellus is lusting after?" Sirius whispered as Slughorn waited for Snape's turn to take effect.

"Evans, of course," I whispered back. "He's always watching her, stupid git—even after she dumped him two years ago."

Snape had the familiar glassy-eyed look of the love potion, but for some reason he was staring straight at us. I shifted uncomfortably as Sirius laughed under his breath.

"Or maybe _you_," he murmured with a fake shudder.

I shuddered for real, for I could imagine nothing worse than Snape falling in love with anyone, potion or not. I breathed a sigh of relief as he sipped the antidote and nodded at Slughorn to continue.

Soon it was Lily's turn, and although I looked away when Lily took the Amortentia, I couldn't help but glance back when I heard her gasp. She stared right at me, eyes bright, and licked her lips in the most seductive manner I had ever seen a girl do. I could feel my face flush and hoped no one noticed. Slughorn coughed to get her attention and handed her a spoonful of the antidote she had brewed. She paled as it took effect, nodded curtly to Professor Slughorn, and looked about as far away from me as she could.

I was next, and having experienced the effects once already, I reluctantly took Slughorn's potion and held it to my lips. I smelled vanilla, lavender, and fresh bread. Ignoring it, I swallowed the potion, closing my eyes as the familiar sense of vertigo—literally falling in love—swept over me and wiped away all rational thought. Slughorn quickly handed me the antidote, and I felt the burning infatuation drain from me, replaced by a hollow, embarrassed emptiness instead. I shook my head and shrugged ruefully; Slughorn gave me a pleased nod and handed Sirius his dose of Amortentia.

The effect was instantaneous: Sirius's face went slack and he gazed up at Slughorn with a look of complete adoration. Several people laughed to guess the object of Sirius's affection. Remus gave me a questioning look, but shaking my head in denial, I turned toward Lily, who was hiding a smirk.

"You didn't," I mouthed.

She winked. "Just wait," she whispered back.

Sirius had managed to get out some sort of flowery compliment that had the class sniggering again. Slughorn frowned and handed him a ladleful of the antidote. "Drink up, Mr. Black. We'll have none of that here."

"Yes, sir," simpered Sirius. It was all I could do to keep from laughing out loud. Sirius drank the antidote, but the stupid look on his face did not go away. Instead, he flushed and batted his eyes at Slughorn.

"Thank you, sir," he whispered seductively. "That was delicious. Perhaps we could share a bottle over dinner?"

I couldn't help it: I burst out laughing along with half the class. Sirius glared at me, and I held up my hands in defense. Remus had buried his head in his hands, he was laughing so hard.

"I must say," frowned Slughorn, "that is the most inappropriate proposition I have ever received from a student, Mr. Black. Are you quite sure you brewed the antidote correctly?" He leaned over the cauldron and sniffed. Dipping his index finger into the pinkish liquid and tasting it on his tongue, he shook his head. "Too much gurdyroot only increases the infatuation. You'll need a new batch."

Lily was there with a vial of her antidote. "Here, he can have some of mine, Professor. It worked just fine."

"Thank you, Ms. Evans," Slughorn murmured, handing Sirius the vial. Sirius frowned, as if trying to remember something. Lily winked at him and returned to her table. I wanted to pump her hand for pulling it off, but that would certainly give it away. As it was, it was sort of fun to share a secret with her.

Sirius went pale as the antidote released him, then suddenly clapped his hand over his mouth, turned, and ran from the classroom as we once again erupted in laughter. Slughorn walked away, shaking his head and muttering to himself.

The rest of the class passed the test without incident. Remus was the last to go and turned red to the tips of his ears. I figured he was probably thinking about Elizabeth, his Hufflepuff girlfriend, but he hurried away after class so fast I didn't have a chance to ask him.

"I can't believe you did that," I whispered to Lily as I caught up with her in the corridor instead. I touched her shoulder, and she seemed to jump before she relaxed and grinned at me.

"I know, but I couldn't resist. It was too good an opportunity to pass up."

"You broke the truce," I pointed out as we walked together. Her smile faltered. She stopped so suddenly I almost bumped into her, but she just stared at me, an odd look in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" I asked, frowning. "I won't tell him."

I took a few steps closer, thinking she was going to be sick, but she stepped backwards, shaking her head. Her hair settled around her shoulders, and I was suddenly struck by a familiar scent: vanilla, laced with lavender. I stared at her, speechless, and she stared back, equally stunned. Students passed around us, oblivious to what was happening in this private moment that was ours and ours alone. I wasn't sure what it was, but I couldn't move and didn't want it to end.

"Er, I have to go," Lily finally stuttered. "Divination."

"Oh, yeah," I managed. "Arithmancy."

She turned abruptly and walked the other way, which was the opposite direction of the Divination Tower. I just stood there and watched her leave, my heart thumping so loudly I was sure everyone could hear it.

"Are we still on for lunch?" I finally called, hoping my voice didn't crack.

She turned, somehow perfectly composed, and smiled. "Of course. See you then."

I nodded and stood there a bit longer. I dimly heard Sirius come up behind me. "See you when?" he asked. He looked a bit peaky and confused, but otherwise okay.

"None of your damn business," I replied as I headed toward the Arithmancy classroom. "I don't need any more sneezewort ruining my Valentine's Day."

"Hey!" he protested. "Don't you trust me?"

"Absolutely not," I tossed over my shoulder.

"I'm not the one who turned his best mate onto a professor," Sirius called.

"Neither am I!" I yelled back. "I had nothing to do with it." I left him standing there, puzzling it out, and hurried to my next class, wishing it was time for lunch.

* * *

**End Notes:**

Another thanks to my beta, Elene/Coolcatelly! And I hope you know which bit is yours, Natalie. ;)


	3. Playing With Numbers

Chapter Three – Playing With Numbers

Advanced Arithmancy was not usually as exciting as my other classes, and I rather liked that. I was on my own, for one, since Sirius, Remus, and Peter had elected to take Care of Magical Creatures instead. I had discovered that the cool logic of numbers was something I enjoyed a great deal. Never mind that it was a load of rubbish; it calmed my mind, and to be honest, I liked having one class to myself. It could be tiring spending each and every class with them, and Arithmancy let me work on my own for once.

I tucked into my usual place in the back and settled down to listen to the lesson. Professor Wenlock was wearing shaggy red robes dyed with multi-colored swirls and several sets of bead necklaces. He had long grey hair that he tied back in a braid and wore tiny glasses with a yellow tint. The classroom always smelled distinctly of mallowsweet, and Professor Wenlock frequently seemed a bit too…mellow.

Today was no exception. After greeting us in his typical hazy fashion, he started class by going over the previous week's charts and then demonstrating our next project. I sat up a bit straighter as I heard the words "Valentine's Day" and groaned as he gave out the assignment: not only were we to create our future love chart, but a profile for our 'one true love' as well.

Glancing around the small class, it was immediately obvious that the girls were far more excited than the boys about the assignment. Next to me, Jackson Robertson raised his hand. He was a Ravenclaw and a flash git, and I could guess what was going to come out of his mouth before he even said it.

"Sir, what if we don't have one true love?" he asked, his voice laced with skepticism. Around me, several other boys nodded in support. Professor Wenlock grinned and took off his yellow glasses, peering at Robertson through bright blue eyes.

"Nonsense," he declared, waving his glasses in the air melodramatically. "Everyone has one true love. You may not have met them—you may _never _meet them!—but there is still one person whose profile will match yours perfectly, and that is the chart I want you to create, my friends."

Another male hand shot up. "Couldn't we look at our career or something instead?" asked Alan Diggory, the Hufflepuff Keeper hoping to go on to a career in Quidditch.

The girls behind me twittered. "He's just worried Carin O'Connell is his perfect match," whispered Anastasia Harrison, a pretty if petty Ravenclaw.

Diggory gave them a smart reply, and they stopped with one last giggle. Anastasia looked straight at me and licked her lips even more enticingly than Lily had done in Potions. "I know who mine is," she whispered. I swallowed and turned back to the front of the room, ignoring the implication.

Professor Wenlock replaced his glasses and started some old Muggle music, one of his many quirky habits. It was his favorite group of bugs, and they were singing about a girl named Lucy. We'd heard it dozens of times, but it still didn't make sense.

"Career status is for next week, Mr. Diggory. Today is Valentine's Day and love is in the air. Now, page 67, please."

I opened my book and started drawing up the complex series of numbers that represented both me and my relationship status. I still found it odd that my entire life—my likes, my dislikes, my entire personality—could be summed up by a random assortment of facts and figures. I had discovered, however, that each time I drew up a new chart, it was always fairly accurate. I almost dreaded what this particular assignment would tell me about my future.

Professor Wenlock drifted about the room, quietly going over everyone's work as he hummed to himself. He was a strange old bird, but we liked him. On the one hand, he was brilliant when it came to Arithmancy; on the other, he often seemed locked in a time and place long gone, wrapped up with his memories and mallowsweet and the Muggle music he loved so much.

Every so often someone would moan over what the numbers showed them. Wenlock would clap them on the shoulder, reassuring them once again that they might never even meet the person whose numbers appeared on their paper. He dropped strange bits of advice like, "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with." Anastasia Harrison caught my eye again and rolled her eyes at Wenlock; I couldn't help but grin before returning to my chart.

Soon enough Wenlock came to my table, and looking over my parchment, he nodded appreciatively. "Good work, Potter," he complimented me. "Mind if I share this with the class?"

He turned to the group before I could protest. "Mr. Potter here has drawn up quite a interesting chart." And he proceeded to detail my future love life to the entire room, down to the last prime number.

"Sensitive, modest, intelligent, and imaginative. Also cooperative, loyal, and fair. Can be self-conscious, indecisive, and dependent." Wemlock paused and glanced down at me with a pleased grin. "Lovely soul mate, Mr. Potter. Have you met him or her yet?"

"Him?" I asked, confused. I didn't lean that way, so surely my soul mate would be a her?

"You soul mate need not be your lover, Mr. Potter," said the professor, eliciting more sniggers from the class. "They are simply the one person in the entire universe with whom you most connect. The one who completes you. The yin to your yang."

"That'd be Black." Jackson sniggered in front of me.

"Of course not," said Penny Pinkerson, a dark-haired Slytherin sitting to my left. She was one of the girls I had tripped over the previous year. "Everyone knows who Potter's got a thing for."

"Oh, we do, do we?" asked Wemlock, handing me my parchment with a wink.

"Lily Evans, of course." Penny smirked at me, clearly enjoying my discomfort. "They've even got a lunch date."

The class laughed, although Anastasia Harrison narrowed her eyes at me like I'd done something wrong and insulted her. Wenlock just nodded thoughtfully as I glared at Penny. "Perhaps. There's more, though." As he continued to predict my future, I couldn't help but slink lower and lower into my chair.

"Whomever the lucky lady is, you will unfortunately have a hard road to wooing her." Wemlock gave me a sympathetic look. "You will suffer injury and heartbreak, and should you win her heart, your life together looks short and tragic."

"You mean, he's going to die with Lily Evans?" squeaked a Hufflepuff from the front of the room.

Wemlock shrugged as if my life didn't much matter. "If that is what the numbers mean."

The class was still, somewhat stunned by my dreadful future. Of all people, Jackson Robertson was the one who broke the silence with a snort. "It's rubbish, Potter. You'll live-maybe even with Evans."

I just stared at him, speechless, while Professor Wemlock clapped me on the back with an understanding smile. "That may be true too, Mr. Potter."

"I thought numbers never lied," said Penny Pinkerton, who seemed pleased to learn my fate.

"Arithmancy predicts what _might_ happen, not what _will_ happen." He glanced around the class; everyone was clearly rattled to hear the first chart we'd done that predicted death. "The numbers do not show us truth or lies, they only show us the possibilities. They are constantly influenced by shifts in time and space. You may face this untimely end, Mr. Potter, or you may indeed live a long and happy life with Ms. Evans and a dozen children flying broomsticks overhead."

That broke the spell, and the class laughed nervously. I didn't know if I was more anxious about dying or having children.

"Now, it appears that Mr. Potter may have found his soul mate here at Hogwarts. Anyone else?"

No one offered an answer, and I didn't pay attention after that. I tuned out the rest of the class and stared at the numbers in front of me. They did indeed seem to point to Lily, and it did indeed look short-lived. It was both reassuring and frightening, knowing that as per the laws of magical math, she was destined to go out with me at some point. Learning that it could come to a quick end cast an aura of gloom over any small hope the numbers offered. Yet Wenlock had said many people did not end up with their soul mates; some never even met, yet alone lived happily ever after. I wasn't sure what to do with the information, and simply sat there rolling the numbers over in my mind until class was dismissed, wondering what my fate would be.

Anastasia Harrison tried to get my attention as I packed up. Ignoring her, I hurried toward the Entrance Hall and made my way down to the school greenhouses. It was cold and cloudy, with several inches of snow covering the ground. I shivered without my warm cloak. I tried to put Arithmancy behind me; I needed to find Lily some daises for lunch and not worry about my gloomy future.

Unfortunately, there were three large greenhouses and I had no idea which one might house the daises. So I decided to go for the direct approach: I found Professor Bourgeon trimming a large pot of Devil's Snare and asked him. He gazed at me through a pair of goggles as if he couldn't believe I had interrupted him. When he wondered why I needed daises, I told him. He rolled his eyes and directed me to greenhouse three, muttering about humans and the vulgar nature of cutting flowers on Valentine's Day.

"Watch out for the Venonmous Tentacula!" he added as an afterthought as I left. "It's teething and feeling rather grumpy today."

I nodded and filed it away as I hurried to pick a bouquet for Lily. As I wandered the greenhouse, however, I was distracted by the distinct sound of a couple snogging nearby. Actually, it sounded like there was quite a bit more going on than just snogging; I hurried the other way, not wishing to interrupt a lover's tryst and completely forgetting Professor Bourgeon's warning.

I ran straight into the Venonmous Tentacula.

Herbology was not my favorite subject; in fact, I had dropped it in favor of Advanced Arithmacy for N.E.W.T.s. So as the plant lashed out at me, my mind went blank. I yelped and leapt backwards, tripping over a shovel and landing in a pile of leaping toadstools. The Venonmous Tentacula did not stop to laugh, but grabbed me around the ankle with its clinging vines.

It was stronger than I remembered. As it hoisted me in the air, the leaping toadstools scampered away. I tried to pull my wand from my robes, but the angry plant shook me around, and my wand went flying into a pile of very familiar looking sneezewort. I could feel the venom from the vine burning into my ankle and knew I needed to do something fast.

I grabbed wildly for the shovel I had tripped over and began hacking at the vine wrapped around my ankle. That only made it more incensed, though, and I could see its tiny new teeth chomping toward me. One bite would put me in the hospital for a week; that would certainly ruin my chances with Lily, even if she did understand it had all been for her. My Arithmancy chart seemed to be coming true already.

Suddenly the venomous vegetation froze. I fell four feet to the ground and landed with a grunt in the dirt. Looking up, I found Remus standing above me with an amused smile on his face. Next to him stood his Hufflepuff girlfriend, Elizabeth Finch, with her wand raised and a frown on her face.

"You could have hurt it, James," she admonished before even asking me if I was injured. "You should have just immobilized it."

"Bloody thing shook my wand away," I mumbled as Remus helped me to stand. He called for my wand and handed it to me with a cheeky look.

"This wand?" he asked innocently.

I mumbled some thanks and tried to put some weight on my injured foot. Unfortunately, it had already started swelling and my leg buckled beneath me. I bit my lip as the pain flared.

"You'll need the hospital wing," said Remus, putting his arm under my shoulder to help support me. I shook my head and gritted my teeth.

"I need some daises," I replied, determined to follow through with my plans.

Elizabeth frowned. "What for?" she asked. "I mean, I know it's Valentine's Day and all, but wouldn't the roses in greenhouse two be more appropriate?"

If I hadn't been fond of Elizabeth before, I definitely did not like her now. I rolled my eyes and hobbled away with Remus struggling to support me. "This girl gets daises," I replied shortly. "Now, will you help me find them or do I have to do it myself?"

"She just saved your life, you know," Remus pointed out under his breath. "But if you're more concerned about flowers than your leg, then they are that way." He motioned behind him. "We just passed them. We were, ah…" He trailed off, slightly embarrassed.

"I heard you," I mumbled. "No need to go into detail." I swore as my ankle throbbed even more. Waving my wand, I cast a quick spell I'd learned on the Quidditch pitch to play through an injury during a game; it dulled the pain enough that I could move with a slight limp.

"Go back to your bush," I told Remus and Elizabeth. "I'm okay." I hobbled in the direction of the daises, leaving them behind. "And thanks for your help."

"You'll still need to go to the hospital wing before the venom spreads!" Elizabeth called.

"After lunch!" I tossed back. I found the daises and picked a large handful for Lily. Conjuring a green ribbon, I tied them together and quickly left the greenhouse, ignoring the renewed sounds of snogging from behind a large flutterby bush.

I moved as fast as I could, but I was limping quite a bit by the time I arrived at the kitchen. Apparently the healing spell worked better in the air than on the ground. I was also fairly late, and Lily was pacing the corridor waiting for me. She looked only slightly less irritated than she had in the common room that morning.

"I'm sorry," I gasped, hobbling to a halt in front of her. "But I promised you daises, and I don't break a promise." I held them out to her, my chest heaving and my ankle throbbing worse than ever. I felt dizzy and slightly light-headed as well, but ignored it as she accepted the flowers with a small smile.

"Thank you." She paused and frowned. "Are you okay? You're pale and out of breath. Did you run all the way here?"

"Sort of," I replied in between heaving gasps. I couldn't seem to get enough air. I felt ridiculous: I was on the Quidditch team, for Godric's sake, and a simple limping sprint from the greenhouses shouldn't wind me. I stumbled as my ankle suddenly gave out and a slow flush crept up my body.

"James, what's wrong?" asked Lily. "You're scaring me. You didn't eat anything from Sirius again, did you?" She caught me as I fell to my knees. I laughed rather hysterically at the reference to what had, until then, been my worst Valentine's Day ever.

"No, I got roped by a—" And then it hit me: the venom was traveling through my body, shutting it down. After the longest morning ever, I was about to be taken out by a grumpy green vine.

The numbers hadn't exactly seen that.

"—Venomous Tentacula," I finished as I fell flat on my face and remembered no more.

* * *

**End Notes:**

Well, that was quite a ride. I do like to beat up Mr. Potter. ;)


	4. Back In The Hospital Wing Again

Chapter Four – Back in the Hospital Wing Again

I woke with nothing but a fuzzy tongue and a monster headache; oddly enough, the burning pain in my ankle was gone. With a slight groan, I opened my eyes to find a blurry face staring at me. I could just make out green eyes dark with concern.

"What happened?" I mumbled as Lily helped me sit and handed me my glasses. I rubbed the bridge of my nose as I replaced them and glanced around. I knew immediately I was in the hospital wing; it seemed between Quidditch and my friends I spent an inordinate amount of time there. "What are you doing here?"

"Checking up on you, of course," Lily replied. "Didn't want you dying before our date."

I tried to give her a lopsided grin, but I still felt groggy. "I thought it was a working lunch."

"Whatever it was, it's long over," she said, pulling up a chair beside my bed and studying me thoughtfully. "You've been out for a few hours."

"I have?" I asked. "What time is it?"

"Almost time for Astronomy," she replied. I glanced out the window: it was still light outside, though the clouds were clearly thickening.

"Funny," I said, leaning back. "No, really—what happened and how long was I unconscious?"

"Well," she began, her eyes sparkling mischievously, "you collapsed in my arms outside the kitchens, which was dramatic, but hardly the most romantic way to start lunch. I did like the flowers, though," she added with a wink.

"Good, because I just about died getting them for you."

Lily's face suddenly grew more serious. "I know. Remus told me what happened. He came running up after you collapsed and helped me get you to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey said the venom had spread fairly far, but she was able to give you a potion to get rid of it. She fixed up your ankle, too. You've been asleep for about three hours, that's all."

"So I missed Charms, then." When she nodded, I rolled my eyes. "You probably went over love charms or something like that anyway."

"You can't charm someone into loving you, Potter," Lily admonished playfully.

"Sirius could," I said without thinking. We laughed, enjoying the secret of her revenge in Potions class once more.

"Actually, Flitwick thought it would be a good time to talk about sex charms, which mostly involved a lot of sniggering and rude comments." Lily paused and gazed into my eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"You mean, besides stupid?" I asked. I sat up again and stretched. Aside from a lingering fatigue, I felt surprisingly well. I thought about how lucky I was that the plant hadn't got in a good bite, though. I could have ended up with more than just a bruised ego.

Lily smiled. "Well, chivalry has its price, apparently."

"An expensive one, I'd say." I shook my head. "What a day."

"How so?" she asked quizzically.

"First the daises, then Potions, then Arithmancy—"

"What happened in Arithmancy?" she asked.

I hesitated, mentally kicking myself for even mentioning it. How could I tell her I had charted our destiny together and that it was not quite the glowing future I'd hoped for? Simple: I couldn't. Therefore, I went for vague misdirection.

"Wenlock went a bit strong on the mallowsweet and had us charting our future."

She raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that what Arithmancy is about?"

"Yes."

"Let me guess—he had you predict your love life because it's Valentine's Day?"

I nodded and looked around for my clothes. Lily pointed toward the foot of my bed, but was not fooled by my attempt to move on.

"We did the same in Divination," she said, handing me my wand and robes. "Only with tea leaves."

I snorted. "Sounds about as accurate as random numbers."

Lily shrugged. "It wasn't all that bad," she said enigmatically.

"What wasn't?" I asked. I was curious what she was getting at, as it seemed like she was hinting at something.

"The future," she replied.

I tilted my head and studied her. "I wonder if it was the same as my numbers told me," I said softly, a bit surprised at both my boldness and my conclusion. I hoped it wasn't the same short and tragic future I'd seen, though I certainly hoped I was a part of it somehow.

Lily raised an eyebrow and leaned in closer. I could once again sense the vanilla on her hair, and my breath caught in my throat at her sudden nearness. "Why don't you tell me your prediction first," she whispered, her lips moving closer to mine.

"I think it went something like this," I replied, lifting my hand to her face. Her eyes started to drift closed, and I moved my lips toward her, hardly daring to breathe as something I'd been thinking about for a year was about to finally happen…

"Oi, Prongs!"

Lily's eyes flew open, and she jumped back into her chair. I fell into my pillows with a frustrated groan as Sirius, Remus, and Peter waltzed into the hospital wing wearing identical grins. Well, Remus looked a bit sheepish and Peter appeared somewhat guilty, but Sirius positively glowed with wicked energy.

"Watch where you're sticking that tongue, Potter," he said, coming up beside the bed and giving Lily a pointed look. "She's a wily one, that Potions Princess of yours."

Lily gave him the blandest response she could as she stood and straightened her robes. "I don't know what you're talking about, Black."

"Not even that extra bit of gurdyroot?" he asked. Remus hid a grin behind his hand.

"Got any sneezewort left?" Lily shot back without missing a bit.

Sirius stopped and narrowed his eyes. "Even, then?"

Lily seemed to think about it. "For now." She turned to me and smiled, and I could see her eyes twinkling merrily at the exchange. She might put on that Sirius drove her mad, but she enjoyed getting to him as much as he did getting to her. I wasn't sure whether to be jealous or proud.

"See you at the feast, then?" she asked. I nodded, trying to think of a way I could get her alone again without coming right out and saying it in front of the others. I had no doubt they would crash any special moments I had planned, and knew I would have to get creative after they left if I wanted to salvage any part of the day.

"Get some rest, Potter. I'm not taking care of you for another Valentine feast." She winked and left me with Sirius, Remus, and Peter, who proceeded to take the mickey out of me every which way. After letting them have a go, I turned it back on Sirius. Remus and I couldn't resist acting out his stellar performance in Potions for Peter, who laughed appreciatively.

"Listen, we're heading to the library to work on that Transfiguration essay due Thursday," said Remus after we settled down. "We'll fill you in on the Charms assignment later. Lily's right—you cut it close with that plant, so get some rest or Pomfrey won't let you come down to the feast."

"And I don't want to make your excuses to Evans," said Sirius. "I think I've had enough of her today."

"Prongs hasn't," murmured Peter. I raised my eyebrows at him. "We interrupted your big moment, didn't we? I bet you'll want to pick up where you left off."

"If I do, it certainly won't be with you lot hanging around," I replied. I meant it, but they just laughed.

They left me alone and I quickly drifted back to sleep. I dreamed about a large daisy, as tall as the castle, with beady black eyes and long, pointed teeth. It picked me up and put me on top of the Astronomy Tower, and Lily on Gryffindor Tower. We kept shouting to one another, but Sirius was flying back and forth on his broom and whooping so loudly we couldn't hear anything. Remus was on the ground with Elizabeth, casting spells and trying to get the monstrous plant to put us down, while Peter watched from the shadows of the castle entrance, laughing and sneezing. Then Snape swooped down from the sky with a burst of green light, laughing madly, and I awoke with a nervous start.

When I opened my eyes and saw that it was now dark, I felt a surge of panic at the thought that I had missed the Valentine feast. I bolted up and jumped out of bed, grabbing my robes and throwing them on as quickly as I could. Madam Pomfrey must have heard me swearing under my breath, because she hurried out of her office, hands on hips.

"Take it easy, Mr. Potter," she admonished. "You don't want to overtax yourself after a run-in with a Venomous Tentacula, even if it was a baby."

"I have to go," I said, turning toward her. "I feel fine."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "You haven't missed the feast, if that's what you're worried about. It's only just begun."

"Thanks, Madam Pomfrey," I said, deliberately trying to slow down and stay calm so she would let me leave. "I just don't want to miss my last one at Hogwarts."

"I understand," she said a little more kindly. "Off you go, then—but stay away from the greenhouses!" I wished her a Happy Valentine's Day, giving her my best smile as I left; I think she blushed.

As soon as I left the hospital wing, I hurried toward the Great Hall. I had not gone far, however, when I turned a corner and ran straight into Lily, knocking her backward to the stone floor with a strangled cry of surprise.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "What's the big hurry?"

I helped her up, apologizing profusely. I was starting to feel as if I were cursed and that nothing could possibly go right that day. "I'm sorry," I practically babbled, brushing off her robes. "I was actually coming to find you, I didn't want to miss the…" I trailed off at the amused look on her face.

"Well, you found me," she pointed out. "Rather inelegantly, I might add. I was just coming to wake up you."

I grinned, feeling a bit of confidence return. "You were?"

"You still owe me a meal," she pointed out.

"I do, don't I?" I replied. "Then let's go. It's our last Valentine feast at Hogwarts, after all."

We set off toward the Great Hall together, reminiscing about our years at Hogwarts. Inevitably, the previous year's debacle at Valentine's Day came up, and I let Lily have her go at me, delighting in her laughter, even if it was at my expense.

"Oh, you should have seen the look on your face when you got slapped by Penny Pinkerson," she giggled.

"I seem to recall you slapping me as well," I reminded her.

"You were a big-headed git," she replied.

"I was under a spell," I shot back.

She burst into helpless laughter all over again. "You were so messed up. Oh, James, I hated it at the time, but looking back, it was…" She stopped and smiled, giving a little shrug.

"What?" I asked, hoping she would finish. I wanted to know what she really thought.

"It wasn't that bad," she said, her cheeks slightly pink. "Better than patrolling the corridors, anyway."

We continued in silence, until I finally plucked up the courage to ask her what was on my mind.

"Lily? Can I ask you something about that night?"

She gave me a curious glance sideways. "Of course."

"At the end, when we…you know, kissed…"

"Yes?" she asked. We had stopped not far from the Entrance Hall. I looked down at her, her beautiful green eyes gazing back at me expectantly, and took a deep breath.

"Did you, well…did you notice anything?" I asked.

"Like what?" she replied.

Damn, but she wasn't going to make it easy for me. I had to just lay it on the line.

"The first time we kissed, it was the love potion, and I apologize for that because I was a complete prat at the time." She nodded, clearly amused at my discomfort, so I swallowed and continued. "But the second time, it was different, and I've always wondered…was it just me, or did you feel it, too?"

Lily's face lit up as she opened her mouth to reply. And then from above us we heard…

"_Pffffffffft!_"

Peeves.

"Potty and Lily-flower!" he cackled, pelting us with chocolates as he zoomed by overhead. "Did I interrupt something, lovies?"

"Yes, you did," snapped Lily, whipping out her wand and blasting a spell at the poltergeist. He twisted out of the way and blew another raspberry at her.

"Now, now, Head Girly-girl," he laughed, shaking his finger at her. "You should be thanking me, you know. Didn't you used to hate this one?" He paused as if he were thinking. "Called him loads of names, if I remember."

He stopped in front of Lily and smacked his lips. I took Lily's hand and pulled her the opposite direction. She fired off another spell over her shoulder, and this time she sent Peeves shrieking away, though still chortling about the Head Girl and Boy.

We turned a corner and walked straight into Remus and Elizabeth.

"Hi!" said Elizabeth brightly. "Did you like your daisies?"

Lily burst out laughing; I groaned and turned down another corridor.

"Where are you going?" called Remus. I could hear Elizabeth asking if she had said something wrong, but I just needed to get away from everyone—and everything—that might interrupt us.

"Good question," murmured Lily. "Where are we going?"

"Back to Gryffindor," I replied.

"But I'm hungry," she said, affecting a pretty pout. "And what about our last Valentine feast at Hogwarts?"

"Sod it, I can't stand the thought of running into anyone else tonight." It was true: if one more thing went wrong, I thought I would explode.

She pulled me to a stop and looked at me with concern. "Are you okay? You seem a bit too upset for what happened."

"For what's happened?" I stared at her incredulously. "Lily, I gave you daises and you got sneezewort instead. Potions was embarrassing, Arithmancy was depressing—"

"Why?" she asked sharply. "What did your numbers say?"

"Never mind." I waved her off. "I was attacked by a giant plant with poisonous vines, missed lunch because I was unconscious, slept through class and had bizarre dreams, and now every time I try to get serious, we get interrupted." I took her both of her hands and looked into her eyes. "I had all these ideas and they've all fallen apart. I just want to celebrate Valentine's Day with you. I want to make up for last year. Lily…I want to see if there's something there."

She touched me on the cheek, which was both maddening and exhilarating. "There is, James, there is. What do you suggest we do?"

"Let's get our cloaks," I said, tugging her along with me again. "We're going to Hogsmeade."

* * *

**End Notes:**

And here I confess that I am starting to mock myself. The title refers to my rather unfortunate habit of landing James in the hospital wing, St. Mungo's, or some other painful situation in just about every story I write. It apparently reflects my subconscious belief that men suffer for love...or at least, some men. ;-)


	5. A Boy, A Girl, A Bar, and a Blizzard

Chapter Five – A Boy, A Girl, A Bar, and A Blizzard

Lily protested the entire way back to Gryffindor. I Summoned her cloak from the girls' dormitory and handed it to her before dashing up the stairs to grab mine—both my warmer cloak and my invisibility cloak, just in case. When I returned, she was still standing where I had left her, with her cloak draped over her arm and a skeptical look on her face. I hurried back through the portrait hole, pulling her with me.

"Potter!" she exclaimed, stumbling a bit. "Slow down! You're almost as mental as you were last year."

I turned and grinned at her. "Back to last names, then? Don't worry, I can change your mind again."

"James," she articulated, shaking her head as she followed me. "You don't need to change my mind. I just don't think we should do this. We're the Head Boy and Girl—"

"—which means we have more responsibility than anyone else in the castle," I interrupted.

"Exactly! We can't go sneaking off the grounds for Valentine's Day just because-–"

"—we deserve a break more than anyone else," I finished.

"That's not what I was going to say," she muttered.

"It's true," I pointed out. We did work hard, after all.

"Maybe," she reluctantly agreed. "But I still don't think we should sneak out. We have an obligation, after all."

"I've done it loads of times," I said.

"This year?" she challenged.

"Sure," I replied rather evasively. In truth, I had only snuck out once all year. Any other time in Hogsmeade had been spent as a stag, but I couldn't very well tell Lily I went running through the forest during the full moon every month.

"It will be crowded in Hogsmeade," she said. "We'll be recognized as students."

"Then we'll just have to make sure we're not recognized," I said. I led her up the staircase toward the fourth floor corridor.

"How are we going to do that?" she asked, sounding innocently naive. I couldn't help but burst out laughing, thinking of my Animagus form.

"Are you a witch or not, Evans?" I teased. She bristled, and I squeezed her hand to pacify her. I knew if I could get her to go with me, it would be worth it; I just had to overcome her natural reluctance. "I'm sorry, Lily. But if you think about it, the answer is obvious."

"Enlighten me," she said. She sounded quite frosty.

I stopped and moved into an empty window nook. "Transfiguration, of course," I replied, taking out my wand. I cast a few spells, and her features began to morph: her hair became shorter and turned a deep golden brown, her nose grew a little big longer, and her cheeks a bit rosier. I left her eyes, however, so I would still recognize her.

"Go ahead—try me," I said.

She narrowed her eyes, clearly undecided. Then with a nod, she whipped out her wand and hit me square in the face with one of the basic human transfiguration spells we had learned in sixth year. I felt my own features change, like my skin was being stretched and molded into something new. I had no idea what I looked like, but she giggled, so it was either hideous or hilarious. I could definitely feel the itch of a short beard and tried not to rub at it. I thanked her as I continued toward the fourth floor, and she reluctantly followed me.

"James Potter," she whispered, "you are a dreadful influence."

"I get that a lot," I replied casually, which prompted her to punch me on the arm. We finally reached the entrance to the secret passageway, a large mirror with an ornate golden frame. It had always seemed odd that there was a mirror there instead of a painting or tapestry, but the reason had became clear to us during sixth year.

Murmuring another spell, I watched the clear glass of the mirror ripple and was pleased to hear Lily gasp with surprise.

"Circe's crown," she said softly, poking her finger into the glass. It sent circles across the mirror like waves across water. "It's a mirror door. How in Hogwarts did you find it?"

I shrugged. "Lucky guess. Sirius wrote an essay on them for Charms last year and thought maybe there was one here at Hogwarts. We tried every mirror in the castle and this was the only one." I paused. "Well, there was the one hiding the Professor's bathroom on the third floor. We walked in on Slughorn reading the Daily Prophet. He wears purple pants."

Lily burst out laughing. "Oh, that is not something I wanted to know," she gasped. "But this is brilliant. I can't believe more students haven't found them."

"Remus thinks there's probably some sort of deflecting charm on them," I told her. "You know, like how Muggles don't take a second look at Hogwarts because they think it's just an old castle. We almost didn't try it ourselves. It felt like we were supposed to just overlook it."

Lily was running her hand along the frame and trailing her finger through the liquid glass. "He's probably right. So what's behind it?"

I took her hand and stepped through the mirror with my right foot. Her eyes widened to see it disappear into the mirror and I laughed. "This is the way to Hogsmeade. Don't worry, it's perfectly safe. The mirror tickles a bit, that's all."

She took a deep breath and followed me through the mirror into a dark stone passageway. It sloped sharply downward, turning several times. We lit our wands and moved slowly thru the passage. I had done this several times with Sirius since we had first found it, but I could sense Lily's nervousness and tried to reassure her.

"It comes out in the quill shop," I told her softly. "There's a small mirror above the sink in the bathroom. Somehow the old witch who owns the place never noticed us leaving her shop even though we never entered."

Lily snorted lightly, holding tight to my hand as we continued along the earthen passageway. We were deep under the castle now and making our way toward the village. "Poor thing. How long do you think the passage has been here? And why?"

"Sirius reckons some old Scrivenshaft wizard was sneaking up to the castle for a shag. Peter thought maybe the professors liked to sneak out for a pint now and then."

"They could both be right," Lily said. "Is there a release spell on the other end?"

"Yes," I replied. "Took us weeks to figure it out." The passageway began to narrow and soon we had to move on our hands and knees. It wasn't long until we came to an extremely tall ladder.

"All right, this is it. I'll go first." I climbed the ladder and cast the spell to release the mirror door above the sink in Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop. I crawled through and jumped down, then turned to help Lily through the awkward opening. As soon as we had dusted the dirt from our cloaks and hair, I waved my wand and closed the mirror, then turned toward the door to head into the shop and out to Hogsmeade.

"James, wait." Lily pulled me back and stared into my eyes. I felt my face flush and heard a sudden pounding in my ears that had to be my heart thumping out of my chest. I thought she was going to finish our moment from the corridor, or maybe the hospital wing, and I leaned toward her, trying to moisten my lips as unassumingly as possible.

She pulled out her wand instead, and I felt a prickly feeling across my eyes that I recognized as a Disillusionment Charm. "There, that's better," she said. "Your glasses are rather distinctive, and I'd bet you're rather well known around here."

"Er, thanks," I offered, slightly disappointed.

"Charms, of course," Lily murmured, throwing my words back at me as we headed out into the shop.

As expected, it was completely empty except for the old witch sitting behind the counter tempering her quills. She glanced up and frowned at us through thick glasses, but Lily gave her a winning smile. "Happy Valentine's Day, Madame Scrivencraft." The old witch nodded absently as she went back to her feathers, and we hurried out into the night.

It had started snowing at some point and was now coming down fairly heavy. Lily lifted her head to the sky and twirled around, squealing with delight. She may have protested even being there, but clearly she was relishing it now that she was. I felt my heart swell to see her so happy. Never mind that we were breaking about a hundred rules; it was already worth it.

"Where should we go?" she asked rather breathlessly.

As much as I wanted to suggest Zonko's or Spintwitches, I didn't think that would be something Lily was interested in. "How about Madame Puddifoot's?" I asked.

She stuck out her tongue. "Too saccharine," she said, shaking her head. "It'll be nothing but moon-eyed couples holding hands and snogging over chocolate and roses."

I burst out laughing. "I didn't realize you had anything against that, Evans," I teased. "Good thing I didn't send you those Chocoballs."

"Especially since I'm allergic to strawberries," she replied casually as we walked up the street. There were a surprising number of people out considering the weather; none of them gave us a second look.

"Burdock's beard, Lily, really?" I asked, slightly taken aback by yet another close call. I hadn't sent the fruit-filled chocolates because I'd been out cold in the Hospital Wing all afternoon.

"Really. Did you actually get me chocolates?" she asked. When I nodded and told her they were still in my dormitory, she laughed. "Good thing you got attacked by that Venonmous Tentacula, then, otherwise I'd be red and blotchy and covered in ointment."

"Good thing," I murmured.

"Come on," she said, taking my hand. In spite of the cold, it felt warm and perfect. "Let's just try the Three Broomsticks."

We trudged hand-in-hand through the deepening snow, enjoying our freedom. I knew I shouldn't have suggested it, let alone taken Lily with me, yet I couldn't help but think that after the day I'd had that I deserved a bit of fun in the village. I was feeling both entitled and somewhat reckless after everything that had gone wrong all day, and I thought the idea of Transfiguring our appearance would keep us safe until we returned to the castle.

Unfortunately, when we got to the Three Broomsticks, it was so crowded that we could hardly get in the door. I had expected crowds, but had at least hoped we could find a table tucked in the back. The Three Broomsticks was a complete loss, though, and I just stood there, staring through the window in disappointment.

"Well, what about the Hog's Head?" murmured Lily.

"Really?" I asked, giving her a skeptical look.

She shrugged. "It's better than standing out here. We might as well try it."

The Hog's Head was slightly more busy than usual, but we were able to get in and order two Butterbeers. The barman gave us funny look, seeing as most of the clientele were consuming far stronger drinks; several appeared to have been at it for quite a while. We found a small table in the corner, as far away from the questionable crowd as possible, and sat down to talk.

After an initially awkward silence, we quickly opened up and began talking about school, about classes, about our friends. We touched on life outside Hogwarts, but the thought of leaving school during such a time was not particularly uplifting. I wanted to ask her what she had been about to say in the corridor before Peeves interrupted us, but the Hog's Head just didn't seem the right place. It also grew more and more difficult to hear each other. We leaned closer, and I desperately wanted to kiss her, but I didn't want our first real kiss to be in a dirty old pub either.

"It's getting loud," I practically shouted. "Do you want to go?"

"How about one more?" she asked. I nodded and went to the bar to get us two more Butterbeers. As I waited for the barman to clean off the dusty bottles, I glanced back at our table. Some bloke several years older than us was hovering over Lily, leering down at her. He was tall, well built, and probably handsome; he was also completely pissed, and Lily was clearly repulsed by his attention. I watched to see how she would handle him; I knew she could, considering they way she'd handled me through the years, but I was ready to jump in if I needed to.

He helped himself to my empty chair and put him arm around her shoulders, his face close to hers. He must have said something exceptionally offensive then, because she smacked him, and he swore loudly. I rubbed my own cheek, remembering how hard she could crack a guy. The git grabbed her wrist, though, and leaned in even closer, whispering in her ear. I saw a flash of anger in Lily's eyes as she wrenched her arm away. He grabbed her again, and I ran over as fast as I could.

"Get off her," I snarled, pushing the drunken lout away. He fell awkwardly to the floor, and there was a rumble of laughter around us. I reached for Lily's hand. "Come on, let's go." She stood, rubbing her arm and glaring at the man on the floor as he picked himself up.

"Tosser," she muttered.

"Bitch," the guy replied, shoving Lily out of the way to get to me. He sent her crashing into some old wizard's lap. He then threw a punch at me, but considering he'd probably had about six Firewhiskys and I'd only had two Butterbeers, I was easily able to block him. I instinctively lashed out with my own right hand; sometimes having a wand didn't even occur to me, and this was one of those times.

My fist landed with a satisfying crack right across the guys' nose, which immediately started gushing blood. I stepped back, shaking my hand and ready for another go, when I suddenly felt my arms pinned behind my back. I glanced over my shoulder into the towering face of the ugliest man I'd even seen. Heavy eyebrows hid beady black eyes, a bulbous nose protruded from a pot-marked face, and he leered at me through thin lips and a gap-toothed smile.

"That's my mate," the big wizard murmured, his accent so thick I could barely make out the words.

"And that's my witch," I snapped before I could stop myself.

The man with the bloody nose stood and wiped it on his sleeve. He took out his wand and leveled it at my chest. Now the entire pub was watching, transfixed, as I was about to get my bollocks hexed off by a bloody maniac on Valentine's Day. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lily struggling to get away from the dirty old man who'd caught her when the bloody maniac had pushed her out of the way.

"I doubt she'll want anything to do with you when I'm done," the wizard with the broken nose wheezed, spitting blood onto the floor. I struggled uselessly against the iron grip of his dull friend behind me as the bloody maniac raised his wand to cast a spell. He was interrupted by a shout from the bar.

"No dueling in here!" snapped the grizzled barman. "Fists only or take it outside."

The bloody maniac grinned as he put away his wand and punched me in the stomach as hard as he could. I felt the air rush from my lungs as I doubled over in pain. The giant behind me pulled me up straight for another go, and I felt another hard fist in my gut. And then as suddenly as it had all started, it was over.

The bloody maniac fell to the floor, Stunned unconscious, and the dumb git pinning my arms simply dropped me, crying like a baby about a Stinging Hex. I looked up to see Lily with her wand brandished; the old wizard who had been holding her on his lap was nursing a face full of Bat Bogeys. In one go, Lily had ignored the barman's ban on wands and put down three wizards. The pub was dead silent.

I didn't know if I was in love or if I wanted to die of embarrassment.

I decided to go for the latter and put up a brave front. After Lily helped me stand, I grabbed her and kissed her soundly, then turned back to the crowd with my most stern face.

"I told you she was _my_ witch," I announced, and with my head held high, we walked out.

I suspected Lily would be furious. One, for getting into a bar fight on our first date in a ratty old pub; two, for referring to her as my witch; and three, for kissing her like that in the middle of it all. I was right, and yet I had forgotten something else.

As soon as we stepped outside, she started hitting me on the arms. "Why do I have to keep rescuing you on Valentine's Day?" she shouted. When I raised my hands in defense, she stopped and glared at me; this was the Lily Evans I remembered from last year. "And how dare you refer to me as your witch and kiss me in _there_. I am _not_ your witch and I never will be after that!" She turned sharply and started back up the street without me.

I shook off my shock and hurried to catch up. "Lily!" I called. "I'm sorry! I know it was stupid, but…" I trailed off. She was practically running, trying to get away from me as fast as possible. The snow was coming down harder than ever now and she stumbled slightly. Putting up the hood of her cloak, she turned toward me, her face already covered in snow.

"Tell me later," she snapped. "We have to get out of this storm first."

She was right. As we hurried down the street toward Scrivenshaft's, the wind picked up; this was no ordinary snowfall and was quickly threatening to turn into a blizzard. I added it to my mental list of things that had gone wrong that day as I caught up to her.

"Lily, I 'm sorry, I really am. I just didn't want him bothering you," I practically shouted over the wind.

"I can take care of myself, Potter," she yelled back, giving me a pointed look. "And apparently I still have to take care of you, as well."

I looked away, embarrassed and angry. I wasn't sure whether I was upset with myself, with the wizards at the pub, or with Lily for stepping in. I just knew we had to get back to Hogwarts and put it behind us. Hogsmeade had been a disaster, and I was ready to swear off Valentine's Day for good.

Lily stopped suddenly in front of Scrivenshaft's Quill shop. "It's closed," she said, somewhat stunned.

I peered through the window and tried the door. "It certainly is," I agreed, my heart sinking. Although I knew what she would say, I offered my first thought. "We could magic the lock and sneak into the back—"

"Absolutely not!" she replied before I could even finish. "We're already breaking the rules being here, and we just got into a fight at the Hog's Head. I'm not breaking and entering on top of it all."

I thought for a moment. "There's another passageway through Honeydukes, let's try that one."

We slogged through the calf-deep snow to the sweet shop only to find it, too, had closed early for the evening. Apparently celebrating Valentine's Day was more important than staying open for business. That or the storm had sent everyone home early.

"Now what?" asked Lily, rubbing her gloved hands together and shivering. It was a long way back to the castle.

"We could Apparate to the gates," I suggested, knowing it was a bad idea but feeling like I had to say something. Lily shook her head.

"No, too dangerous with the wind and snow. Plus we would still need a way through the wards at the gates."

Having never needed to sneak back in through the front entrance, I'd never thought about that. She was right: we couldn't get back in through the gates without alerting the castle to the fact we had left. That left one other option.

I took her hand, expecting her to shake it off, but given the increasing ferocity of the storm, she let me, clinging to my arm as if it were an anchor as the wind and snow swirled around us. "There's one more way," I said, leaning close to her ear. "But you have to trust me."

She gave me the most exasperated look I'd ever got from her. "Of course I don't, but I don't have any choice, do I?"

"Not really," I agreed.

"Then how are we going to get back?"

"Through the Shrieking Shack," I answered, and I led the way toward the most haunted house in Britain.

* * *

**End Notes:**

Thank you so much to Lea and Lori for consulting and helping me figure out the right direction to take this. And thank you to Carole for listening to my spoilers and pointing out what needed to be changed for the better, as well as enduring my constant Brit-picking questions. I love you, ladies!


	6. The Shrieking Shack

Chapter Six – The Shrieking Shack and The Long Walk Back

We huddled together, fighting our way against the wind and snow to the Shrieking Shack. It was cold, dark, and it was only getting worse. I could hear Lily's teeth chattering next to me, and although she didn't say a word, I could feel the disapproval and disappointment radiating from her like heat—only it didn't keep me warm.

After what felt like an endless journey through the blinding storm, we finally came to the Shrieking Shack. In spite of the heavy snow, Lily slowed down, obviously hesitant about entering the dilapidated old house. I couldn't blame her; all the people of Hogsmeade were convinced the shrieks they heard from the house were violent spirits. Although I knew the screams and howls were actually from one of my best friends, the students and villagers absolutely believed it was haunted, and in the dark night with a howling wind whipping around us, it was easy to understand why.

"Trust me," I whispered in her ear. "We have to get out of this storm."

Lily glared at me, but nodded reluctantly. I was acutely aware that it was my fault we were out in the first place, and the look on her face told me she knew it as well. I stopped worrying about whether she might have feelings for me and just hoped we'd survive so she might forgive me someday.

We struggled through the rusty front gate and made our way toward the front of the house. There was no door and the windows were all boarded shut. In fact, the entire house was magically spelled to keep Remus inside on the improbable chance he should try to escape. Lily stared at the strange house.

"How do we get in?" she shouted over the wind.

"Through the door, of course!" I shouted back. Taking out my wand, I cast a silent spell and waited impatiently as a small opening appeared before us.

"How did you know that was there?" she asked, wide-eyed.

"Lucky guess," I replied as blandly as I could. Obviously I couldn't tell her that it had taken Sirius and I weeks to figure a way out of the shack so that we could wander around Hogsmeade in our Animagus forms.

"Bollocks. Tell me how you knew how to get in," Lily demanded.

I lit my wand and led the way into the black entryway. As we stood in the cool darkness brushing snow from our shoulders, Lily glanced anxiously around. She turned back to me with narrowed eyes.

"I'm not going any further until you tell me everything."

I tried to gather my thoughts. I had to tell her enough that she would trust me, but not so much that I'd give away Remus's secret.

"Look, there's a secret passage from here back to the grounds. We've been using it for years and have never once ran into a ghost."

"How did you find the passageway?" she asked.

I shrugged, knowing I had to lie and hating it. "Same way as the others—we looked and got lucky."

"How did you know the spell to open the door?" she pushed.

"Kept trying until one worked." This was half true.

She snorted, obviously aware I was making up answers. "How did you know it would be safe?"

I hesitated.

"Tell me, James, or I'll take my chances out there on my own."

"We worked it out," I finally said. "Have you ever paid attention to the stories? The shrieking doesn't happen every night, only on certain nights. So we figured it would be safe on the other nights." I was digging myself deeper and deeper, but I didn't know what else to say. I just wished she would stop asking me questions.

"What nights?" she asked.

"Merlin, Lily, why so curious all of a sudden? Wouldn't you just rather get back to the castle?"

"You dragged me out here, Potter. You owe me answers."

I sighed. I was knew she would figure it out on her own if I said too much, but I had little choice. She was right, after all: it was my fault we were stuck off grounds in the middle of a blizzard. I did owe her the truth, only it wasn't mine to give.

"The Shrieking Shack is only haunted during the full moon," I muttered. "Now, let's go."

To my surprise, she followed me down the narrow hallway toward the back room. "Okay," she said softly. "So what does that mean?"

"It means we're safe, because the next full moon isn't for another nine days," I replied over my shoulder.

"James Harrington Potter, how the hell do you know that?" she asked, sounding surprised.

I glanced at her with my eyebrows raised. "How do you know my middle name?"

And to my astonishment, she giggled, breaking a bit of the tension that had sprung up between us in Hogsmeade. "No idea. Now why do you follow the cycles of the moon so closely…" She trailed off, staring at me, and I shook my head.

"Don't ask me, Lily. Please don't ask."

I must have sounded serious, desperate, or scared, because she nodded. "Okay. I won't. Let's just get out of this place."

As we walked down the hallway, Lily looked into the side rooms and saw the furniture upended, the terrible rents in the wallpaper, the stains on the carpet. I heard her breathing catch as she began to put everything together.

"It's a werewolf, isn't it?" she whispered. "That's what everyone thinks is a ghost—a werewolf during the full moon."

I didn't answer, knowing I'd give it all away if I did. We reached the back room and the small hole in the wall that opened to the tunnel back to Hogwarts. Before entering, Lily pulled me to a stop.

"Do you know who it is?" she asked softly. My silence was apparently answer enough. She squeezed my hand. "You're a good friend."

I whipped my head around. "What makes you think it's a friend?"

"Must be if you're not telling," she whispered. "Let's go, this place is too sad."

Knowing what Remus went through every month, I agreed, and we walked silently through the cramped tunnel back toward Hogwarts. We didn't say a word; somehow, coming through the Shrieking Shack in my human form and not as a stag had driven home just how difficult Remus's life as a werewolf really was. I couldn't help but think of the next full moon and how painful his transformations would be without us once we left Hogwarts. Lily was quiet as well. I wanted to ask her what she was thinking, but I found I preferred the silence.

"Are you okay?" she finally asked me instead. "You're never this quiet."

"I'm having an unusually bad day," I muttered.

"It happens," she said.

"It's Valentine's Day."

I could sense her nodding. "It wasn't quite what I was expecting when I got up this morning either," she agreed.

"It wasn't what I had planned," I replied dryly. "I just wanted…well, it doesn't matter now." I knew it didn't, because she had so much as told me she didn't want anything to do with me anymore.

"It wasn't that bad," she offered. I could only snort.

"Of course it was. Worse than last year, even—at least last year I had an excuse thanks to Sirius and his potion."

"That's true," she murmured.

"Thanks." We reached the end of the tunnel. I turned toward Lily, feeling completely defeated. A few hours ago I might have taken the opportunity to kiss her again before heading back to the castle. Now I was just tired and overwhelmed and desperate to maintain a shred of my dignity. "Look, I'm sorry I messed up so badly. I'd offer to make things up to you, but I know you're not interested, so let's just leave it at that."

"James—" she started. I waved her off.

"Forget it," I said. "You don't need to say anything. Now, we're under the Whomping Willow, so give me a minute while I turn it off."

That stopped her from the rejection I was expecting. "We're under the Whomping Willow? You can stop it?"

"Yes," I replied.

"From whomping? How?"

"There's a knot on the outside that freezes it, as well as one inside next to one of the roots." I held my wand up toward the root system of the great tree and squinted for the right spot. I was fairly certain the Whomping Willow would be dead quiet anyway due to the storm, but having been hit more than my fair share of times, I had no desire to take my chances. I certainly didn't need to end up back in the hospital wing, and couldn't imagine the consequences if Lily were hurt.

"I thought he was just going on about nothing," I heard Lily murmur behind me.

"Who?"

"Severus," she replied. "He told me about this tunnel, what Sirius did—what you did."

I froze. "What else did he say?" I could hear Lily's quick breathing in the dark. "Lily. Tell me."

"He didn't say anything. He said he wasn't allowed to tell. I knew his theory, though. I just chose to ignore it." She was quiet. "It's Remus, isn't it?" she asked softly.

I did not answer.

Clenching my jaw, I pressed the knot that stopped the tree. I climbed out of the hole, which was completely snowed in, and dug it out before helping Lily out of the tunnel. The snow was still falling furiously, and the wind whipped it around the grounds in great drifts. I pulled out my invisibility cloak, even though it seemed ridiculous that someone might see us in the middle of a blizzard.

Sweeping the cloak over us both, I was only slightly pleased when Lily gasped. "An invisibility cloak," she said. "I thought you might have one of these. You're just full of secrets, aren't you?"

"You have no idea," I murmured.

We walked the rest of the way in awkward silence. Just outside the main doors, Lily stopped me.

"You didn't answer me," she said. "About Remus."

"I can't," I told her. I couldn't even look at her. The day was about to end even more miserable than it had started.

"Then why did you take me that way?"

"I had to," I replied. "It was the best way back to the castle."

"You must have known I would figure it out," she murmured.

"If I did and you have, then I trust you'll do the right thing and keep anything you've figured out to yourself," I said. "Let's go." We had made it back to Hogwarts safely. I was tired, hungry, and cold, and I was ready for the night to be over. If one more thing went wrong, I didn't think I would be able to deal with it.

A small part of me hoped she would reassure me, tell me it hadn't been that bad, that she liked me and didn't care if my pathetic attempt at Valentine's Day had turned out even worse than the night we had spent together the previous year. She didn't, though, and we entered the castle without a word.

I tucked the cloak into my pocket as we headed back to Gryffindor. The corridors were quiet and I felt my feet dragging more and more. We hadn't gone far, however, when were stopped by the sixth-year Hufflepuff prefect, Carin O'Connell.

"You there!" she called. "You're out after curfew. What house are you in?" She peered into our faces. "I don't even recognize you. What year are you?"

I swore under my breath: we had forgotten the transfiguration spells and looked completely different. Of course she wouldn't recognize us. I turned us around, released the spells on us both, and felt my face melt back to its normal self. Carin gasped.

"James!" she exclaimed. "Lily? What are you two doing out?" She wrinkled her nose in surprise. "Together? In disguise?"

"Patrolling, of course," I replied. "Just thought we'd catch more illicit snogging this way."

She narrowed her eyes at me but nodded. "I've already cleared three broom closets."

I forced a wink as we walked away. "More room for you and Diggory then, huh?"

I knew she was blushing but didn't stay to enjoy it like I might have. I just wanted to get away now. Every nerve was jangling with the need to be alone and perhaps punch something. We hurried up the main staircase to the seventh floor. I dashed down the corridor, desperate to say goodnight and safely deliver Lily to her dormitory before venting my frustration somewhere. Where I was going to go, I had no idea. I just had to get away, alone.

"James!" Lily called. "Slow down!" I heard her stop and turned toward her. "Please."

Rushing back, I was suddenly concerned something had happened to her. "Are you you're okay? Did that prat hurt you? Did you twist something in the tunnel?"

She seemed taken aback at my sudden attention. "No, I, er…" She trailed off before starting over. "I was just wondering…I'm just worried, that's all. Are you okay? You've had a long day, after all."

I stared at her. "Tell me about it. And yes, I'm fine. I just want to get back to Gryffindor and relax in front of the fire or something." I headed back down the corridor, but stopped when I heard her gasp behind me.

I whipped around, my wand out and my nerves ready to fly apart. Lily was staring at something, something that stopped me as well. The portrait of the Fat Lady was hanging on the stone wall of the seventh floor corridor, opposite a hideous tapestry of dancing trolls. She was sleeping, even snoring lightly, just as she did every night, yet we were nowhere near the Gryffindor common room yet.

"It just appeared," Lily whispered, confused. "Out of nowhere, right after you walked away. What's it doing here?"

I walked up to the portrait, my curiosity getting the better of me. I touched the frame; it seemed real. When I spoke the password, the Fat Lady did not wake, but the portrait swung open into a dark room.

"What the hell," I said, and I stepped through, not quite ready to quit after all.

**End Notes:**

I am starting to forget how many people I have consulted with on this. It's almost as if my stories are becoming a community effort. I definitely have to thank Carole and Jess for helping me break into the Shrieking Shack, and Carole again for allowing me to badger her for some Brit-picking.  
If this seems like the never-ending day, I agree. But I always wanted them to end up here, so I don't anticipate throwing anything else at them. This story will conclude in Chapter Seven. We'll see how it turns out. ;)


	7. Reservations Not Required

Chapter Seven - Reservations Not Required

We stepped through the portrait hole…

…and into the Gryffindor common room.

"Helga's girdle," Lily gasped. "What's the common room doing here? And where is everyone?"

I glanced around the large circular room. It looked exactly like Gryffindor Tower, from the plump armchairs, to the roaring fireplace opposite us, to the stairs leading up the dormitories. Only there was not a single person anywhere, nor any sign that anyone had ever been there.

"This is mental," I murmured, walking around. "Why would the common room just appear out of nowhere in the middle of this particular corridor?"

Lily was also examining the room and turned to me with a grin, her eyes bright and excited. "I don't think it _is_ the common room, James. Not really. I think it's the Room of Requirement."

"The what?" I asked.

"The Room of Requirement," she repeated. "Haven't you ever heard of it?"

Nodding my head in amazement, I just stared around some more. The bulletin board even had the most recent Quidditch notices. "You mean the Come and Go Room. We spent most of our third year looking for it. Gave up and figured it was joke," I replied.

"I thought it was just an old Hogwarts legend, like the Chamber of Secrets," Lily replied. "It's supposed to be a magical room that becomes whatever you need it to be when you find it. We were walking back to Gryffindor so it became Gryffindor. You must have been walking right in front of it when you said you just wanted a fire." She motioned toward the hearth. "So there's your fire."

I grinned with her. "It's brilliant. Wish we'd found it ages ago." I tossed my cloak on a chair, threw myself down on one of the sofas, and put my feet up. It was warm and quiet and there was no one around to disrupt what had to have been the longest Valentine's Day ever. I was already starting to feel more relaxed than I had since we'd left the Hog's Head.

"What, something the Marauders didn't find?" Lily teased. "I'm shocked."

"We'll have to add it to the map, that's for sure," I murmured.

"What map?" she asked curiously, sitting down not far from me, her cloak thrown on top of mine.

"We have a map of the castle," I shrugged. "Helps us get around."

"You mean sneak around." She laughed.

"That too." It was as if being back in the castle had restored our budding relationship to where it had been earlier. Lily was no longer wild-eyed with anger at me, and it made me feel slightly better to think that perhaps she wouldn't hate me after everything we had been through.

"You probably won't be able to find it on any maps," she said. "It was thought to be a myth."

"Well, it's a rather special map," I hedged. "We made it ourselves, so we'll just add it."

Lily shook her head. "I doubt you'll be able to. My guess is that it's either Unplottable, or all the magic in the room distorts it too much for you to map it accurately."

I sat up straighter and gave her a skeptical look. "Why? It's a room and it's here. We'll just add a little box for it." The charms on the map were a lot more complex than that, but I didn't want to say too much about the map we had worked so hard on, not yet.

"It's not always here, though," Lily said. "It's only here when someone needs it."

"Where does it go?" I demanded. "A room like this just doesn't disappear."

Lily simply shrugged. "I don't know. It's a magical map, I assume?"

I nodded.

"Then maybe it will work. Or maybe," she added, glancing at me coyly, "maybe we could keep it secret for a while."

I gave her a dubious look, because I simply couldn't believe what she was suggesting after all that had happened. She, however, moved closer to me on the couch, and I raised an eyebrow at her.

"What are you playing at, Evans?" I asked, pretending to sound suspicious.

"I think we should keep it for ourselves for a while," she replied. "You know, for those private working lunches as Head Boy and Head Girl." She gazed at me expectantly. "That way you could put your arm around me whenever you want." I had never imagined she could be so forward, but I did as she suggested, and she put her head on my shoulder. It was incredibly comfortable.

"Did you bump your head out there or something?" I murmured, my hand being to subconsciously stroke her hair. It was still wet from the snow, and my fingers trailed through it, combing out the tangles.

"Maybe," she mused. "I'm sitting here with you in a room that shouldn't exist, after all."

"It's better than the Hog's Head," I pointed out.

She laughed out loud, almost ruining the moment. "Oh, James. I can't believe that happened back there. Are you sure you're okay?"

I shrugged, still embarrassed about the fiasco at the pub. "Yes, I'm fine. I suppose I should finally thank you for what you did…"

"…only you would have preferred getting your stomach punched in a few more times?" she asked, her voice teasing again.

"Of course not," I said, rolling my eyes. "Thanks. You're pretty good in a fight."

"Not really," she replied. "I only had a chance because no one else had their wand out. Most of them were too drunk."

"Oh, that's not true," I replied, glancing at her with surprise. "That was a hell of a Bat Bogey Hex, and you put those other two nutters down before they even realized what was happening."

Lily blushed. "Well, thank _you_, then. For the compliment."

"You're welcome," I replied.

"And so are you."

We were silent for a while, and although I knew I should either apologize for the disaster in Hogsmeade or try to pick up from where we had been repeatedly interrupted throughout the day, I could barely keep my eyes open in the warm comfort of the cozy common room. It was quiet except for the sound of the crackling fire, and the sofa was so soft I didn't feel like moving, talking, or even thinking anymore. My head drooped until my chin was resting on my chest, and I was simply too exhausted to pick it up. My eyes slammed shut, and I think I even started dreaming…

Until I felt a set of warm lips on mine.

My head flew up and my eyes jerked open; my pulse was suddenly racing. Lily pulled away as if struck by lightning, a surprised and slightly sheepish look on her face.

"Did you just kiss me?" I stuttered, sitting up and staring at her.

Lily stared back, albeit a bit sheepishly. "Yes. I didn't think you were really asleep."

"Merlin's shaggy beard," I said, unable to stop myself. I started laughing.

"What's wrong?" Lily demanded. "Why are you laughing? It couldn't have been that bad."

I doubled over, I was laughing so hard. It was like all the tension and nerves were rushing from me in one hysterical fit, and I simply couldn't control it.

Lily started to crack a smile. Slowly it widened until she was grinning, then laughing with me. We held onto each other for support, our breaths coming in gasps as we tried to stop but failed.

"Evans," I finally managed, "I can't believe you kissed me, and I missed it. I've been waiting all day to kiss you, and when it finally happens, I'm asleep." I took a deep breath to calm my laughter and shook my head ruefully. "Fitting end to a rubbish day, I suppose."

She laughed one last time. "It will make a rather sorry story, won't it? Our first kiss was thanks to a love potion, and our second was while you were nodding off."

"Only it wasn't our second kiss, it was our third," I said, remembering our kiss outside the Potions classroom the previous year. "You never answered me, you know. Back in the corridor right before we left the castle."

"I never had a chance," she replied. "It's been one thing after another with you ever since."

"I'm like that," I offered. "So what were you going to say?"

"I don't remember," she said, eyes twinkling. "What was the question again?"

I groaned as I fell back against the cushions. "Lily! You're torturing me."

"I know," she said, entwining her hand with mine. "I'm like that, too."

I looked down at our hands and decided I could play hard to get as well. I stood up, pulling her with me, and yawned. "Well, take your time. I'm exhausted, though, so I'll walk you back." I turned to leave, but her hand in mine pulled me to a stop.

"James Potter, don't you dare go anywhere," she said, stepping closer.

"Why?" I asked, trying to sound curious and not desperate.

"Because I _do_ have an answer for you," she said. Her lips were once again moving toward mine. "If you can stay awake this time," she added, stopping suddenly and glancing up into my eyes with a sly smile.

"It depends on what's keeping me up," I said, putting my arms around her waist and pulling her closer. "Is it a good answer or a bad answer?"

"Stop talking and listen," she murmured, her lips brushing against mine. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me down with a strength I didn't expect and an intensity that was instantly irresistible. I felt my stomach drop and my breath catch as she pressed her body close to mine and leaned hard into the kiss.

How long we stood there, I don't know. Eventually we tumbled to the sofa, arms and legs tangled and roving. I shoved aside the cushions, catching my breath before I began to run my lips down her neck. She arched her back and whispered my name, and I just about lost it as her hands moved through my hair and down my back.

"James?" she asked rather breathlessly as I nibbled on her ear. I couldn't believe how fast we were moving and pulled back, silently relieved for the break.

"Yes?" I asked, brushing the hair from her face and kissing her nose.

"What did you see in Arithmancy?"

I groaned. "Evans, how can you be thinking about that now?" I went back to her neck, my hands moving down to caress her thighs. I heard her gasp and grinned to myself, hoping I had distracted her successfully enough to leave the subject alone.

Apparently not.

"You said it was depressing," she said, interrupting herself with a squeak of pleasure as my hands continued to roam. "What did your chart say?"

"Well, everyone in class seemed to think it was about you, even Wenlock," I offered, moving down to kiss her collarbone.

"Then what was so depressing?" she asked. She flipped me over in one quick move and straddled my waist, grinning at me with a mischievous look in her eyes. "Because if this is depressing, then I'm leaving, Potter."

"Don't go," I murmured, pulling her down on top of me. She smiled before kissing me once more, a long deep kiss, and I hoped the question was forgotten again.

"Tell me," she said, moving away from my lips and planting kisses along my jaw. She sucked gently on my earlobe, her tongue tracing circles that sent shivers across my chest, and I groaned again. "Tell me, James."

I think I actually growled as I grabbed her, kissing her fiercely before pulling back and gazing into her eyes. "It said we'd end up together," I told her, for once that night giving her the truth. "But that it wouldn't last."

She nodded slowly; she didn't seem surprised. "I saw the same thing in Divination," she told me very matter-of-factly.

I felt the air whoosh out of me like a punctured balloon. "Well, that's a hell of a way to start a relationship—knowing it's doomed."

She raised an eyebrow. "Do you care?"

"If it doesn't last?" I asked incredulously. "Of course I do! Don't you?"

She began to undo the buttons on my shirt; I felt my eyes go wide, and she grinned at me. "Not right now, not really. I think we should enjoy the time we have together, don't you?"

Taking off my shirt and tossing it over her shoulder, she ran her hands over my chest, sending small ripples of pleasure coursing through my body. I wanted more than anything to do exactly what she had just said, and yet…

"I don't want to lose you so soon, Lily," I whispered as she leaned down to kiss me once more.

"You won't," she smiled against my lips. "It's just numbers and tea dregs. We can prove them wrong."

I pressed her to my bare chest as I kissed the top of her head. "We've already proven the rest of the world wrong, so I suppose anything is possible."

She was quiet for a moment, and I was strangely happy to simply lie there, enjoying the warmth of her body, so close to mine. I could not have imagined when I woke up that morning that the day would have ended so perfectly.

"James?" she finally said, rolling to the side and propping herself up next to me.

"Yes?" I asked, my hand caressing her cheek once more.

"The answer is yes. I felt it too."

"So did I," I finally admitted, in case it hadn't been obvious.

"I've wondered for a year, you know," she said, snuggling into my neck with a sigh.

"Me, too." I took her hand and brought it to my lips, then kissed her softly, slow and lingering.

"I'm glad you decided to give me that sneezewort this morning, James," Lily murmured.

"It wasn't me, but happy Valentine's Day anyway, Evans."

"Happy Valentine's Day, Potter."

* * *

**End Notes:**

The end! The never-ending Valentine's Day is finally over, and James and Lily can live happily ever after…for a while, at least. Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed this story. I do hope you have enjoyed the ending. Oh, and I have no idea what the chapter title means. It just stuck. :)


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